Cleanse Me in Certainty, and Take Me Further
by VenusUnchained
Summary: What Makoto remembered was that Nigel Vega had always been the man she compared the others to. Sure he'd gone by a different name once, one that had a bitter bite to it, but for her, it was no worse than biting into a bar of bitter baker's chocolate thinking it was a candy bar.


The warm breeze blew into the cab of Nigel's pickup, sifting through waves and curls of chestnut and auburn while they puttered along country roads to get away from the utter turmoil that had erupted in their lives back in Tokyo. A comfortable silence deafened the space where fingers lay entwined on his denim-clad thigh while he drove, and Makoto gazed wistfully out at the peaceful scenery as it passed. She supposed she could call this their fourth date, a factual scandal amongst her friends, but she couldn't care to dwell on things like past lives and faded memories. They were no more than photographs to her, pictures of strangers, bleached and left out in the Sun too long. They weren't those people anymore, and they had no sway over the lives they lived now.

What Makoto remembered was that Nigel Vega had always been the man she compared the others to. Sure he'd gone by a different name once, one that had a bitter bite to it, but for her, it was no worse than biting into a bar of bitter baker's chocolate thinking it was a candy bar. She remembered an age long ago, and a man she could never pursue. He read the stars, held kindness in his eyes, warmth in his smile, and all the beauty of a fallen angel in his soul. Nigel was a wounded, broken man, but in recent weeks had come to life once she'd forgiven him. It was a long, stressful night of talking things through so they could have this chance to finally explore a romance that never had the opportunity to bloom.

Nigel was a real head-turner, insanely tall and built like he could lift a tank. He had one of those smiles that was infectious and warm, doe brown eyes and long chestnut hair that made shampoo commercials envious of the deep waves that fell all the way to his lower back. Unfairly good looks aside, he was a hard guy to hate regardless of what some of her friends might say. He was kind, and warm, charming and goofy with a dash of recklessness that was likely going to keep her on her toes. And his voice, deep and comforting, invigorating like that first sip of coffee in the morning, was without a doubt one of her favorite things about him.

It was hard to find a remote field this close to the city without having to take a day trip, but Nigel said he knew a place near a small lake nestled between lively and enchanting villages. They were beautiful and charming, but between running their own businesses and all of the drama back home, it was safe to say they both just wanted some peace. Pulling just off the road to park in the field, Nigel brought their entwined fingers to his lips to kiss the back of her hand and offered a warming smile. Regrettably he released her, and she watched a moment as he stepped out of the car with a groan, lifting his arms above his head for a good stretch.

"I hope it doesn't rain." She spoke softly, shielding her evergreen eyes as she stepped out of the car into the fresh air. Everything was in bloom, that time between Spring and Summer where everything is fragrant and perfect, but Makoto always had a knack for rain, for obvious reasons.

"Wasn't in the forecast." Nigel grinned cockily at her over the bed of his truck and reached in to grab the embarrassingly heavy picnic basket she'd packed. She licked her lips and straightened out the flowy green skirt with a large pink floral print she chose and adjusted the beige cropped off the shoulder sweater she paired it with. It was a comfortable, date-worthy choice, so she thought, but had to go in blind on the fashion for the day since her friends were currently somewhat divided.

She sighed and held back her frown because Mina was still just so angry, and blindsided, and hurt that she refused to even help her pick an outfit for the day. Each of them dealt with the return of the traitorous Four Heavenly Kings a different way, or didn't deal with it at all. Usagi and Mamoru had both embraced them with open arms, Ami's supercomputer found no traces of Dark Energy or malice, and overall they seemed like really great guys. There were no creepy Youma or evil intentions in sight. Unless the wine he promised he'd bring sucked.

Makoto folded the thick flannel blanket over one arm and grabbed the mini cooler with the other, inhaling the fragranced air a moment before she followed Nigel the short distance across the field toward the water's edge. They hadn't said four words since they left the city when normally they could talk for hours about everything and nothing, and the silence was oddly comforting. She began to hum a tune she'd heard on the radio that morning when she got ready and began unfolding the blanket for them to sit on. Strong arms wound around her waist and Makoto paused to laugh a bit in her throat and leaned back against his chest.

"Well hello, beautiful." He charmed, feeling his smile as he kissed her cheek. Nigel's deep voice rumbled through her like thunder, her eyes fluttering closed to enjoy the closeness of him, head tilting to the side with a peaceful exhale. He forever smelled like cedar, from the construction and woodworking shop he owned a few doors down from her own cafe. It mingled with his cologne creating a scent so uniquely his own that like the scent of rain, it couldn't be mistaken for anything but Nigel.

"Hey yourself." She breathed, feeling his lips press a singular lingering kiss on her neck.

"Want some help with that?"

"Mmm." She hummed her approval with a hesitant nod. She could have stayed like that forever, in his arms with the heat of his breath against her skin, enveloped in his warm embrace with the scruffiness of his jaw and soft drape of his hair adding a myriad of sensation to the contact.

He helped her spread the blanket over the grass, a great view of the lake and the mountain of clouds in the distance. There was nothing seemingly for miles. Nigel kicked off his shoes and plopped on the blanket, stretching his long legs and leaning back on his hands. Makoto could tell the past weeks had been hard on him. She saw it on his face every time one of the girls made a snide comment, forced their politeness at him, or flat out ignored his existence. Not that Nigel owed them anything or needed them to like him, he was far too laid back for all that, but it was what it did to his friends that clearly got under his skin.

"Thanks for coming out here with me."

"You don't have to thank me." She replied, opening the picnic basket to begin digging into all the food she prepared. "I think we established that I like spending time with you, you dork."

"Hey," Nigel paused her ritual piling of taking an obsessive inventory of all the food by the gentle feel of his fingers on her chin, urging her to look at him. "I mean it when I say that this has meant the world to me."

"It's nothing." Her fingers curled around his wrist and pressed her lips to the pads of his fingers, gazing into warm and emotional chocolate brown eyes. "You're just you now, and we're just us."

"I like the sound of that Sparky." Warmth spread to his face when he smiled, running his fingers through the fringe around her eyes, brushing auburn curls that had come loose from her usual ponytail with soft touches against her cheek. "Us."

Heat rose to her cheeks, and Makoto had to take a slow breath to calm her heart. She knew he watched her when she turned to continue rummaging through the insane amount of food she'd made, pulling containers of sandwiches, sides, casseroles, fruit, and baked goods, to rest on the blanket while she took inventory.

"Damn Mako, are we expecting more people?" He leaned over to peek into the basket with a deep chuckle, brown eyes gleaming amusement when she rolled her eyes and shook her head with a humored grin.

"I tend to overdo it when it comes to cooking." Makoto would never admit that the problem always became exceedingly worse when she was nervous, and it was still early enough in what she hoped was a blossoming relationship that he still made her nervous. She never was one to ask a person's preference for food, just began piling a little bit of everything onto plates so she could shamelessly get reactions to her cooking. Nigel pulled a corkscrew from a pocket of the fitted canvas jacket he wore, grabbing two red solo cups to pop the bottle resting in the small ice-filled cooler.

"Hope you're hungry!" Makoto beamed, watching his brows lift the full plate in front of him.

"Starved actually." He admitted, eyeing the open bottle in his hand skeptically. "Full disclosure, Zaki picked this out so if it's bad, it means he's still trying to sabotage me. The bastard's French so this had better be good…"

"You two never did really get along, did you?" Makoto mused, fixing a much more modest plate for herself.

"You know those pesky little brother tropes in a lot of sitcoms? It's like that with pretty much all of them but Zaki has always been my polar opposite. I mean, I don't want to get some complex so I have to make him admit that he loves me on a regular basis, in case he forgets. And he especially loves the bear hugs." Nigel grinned wide, mischievously, because Makoto didn't know Zaki very well, but she knew enough that unless you had naturally blue hair and a mutant level IQ, you do NOT hug Zaki Balmont.

"Oh, I bet he loves that." She laughed at the imagery, reaching to feed Nigel a piece of sushi she'd forgotten she made. He winked, grinning as he chewed as if to confirm his perpetual torment of his younger friend. "Sounds like me and the girls though. I can't think of any of them that I butt heads with too much. Maybe Mina because I don't care what anyone says, the girl is more stubborn than Rei. Of course, she does make a habit of not letting you stay mad at her for long."

"Heh, Mamoru warned us about your fearless leader. She'll be alright in time," He assured, placing his hand on her knee, thumb circling on the thin chiffon fabric over one of the large pink petals of the print. "I was pissed at him too you know, and I love the guy. Khai has always meant well, but he paid for his mistakes, that's for damn sure. It's his own doing but he can't seem to stop paying for them. So I can't really blame her, or any of you."

"Come on, let's not talk about all that. We came here to get away from it. Yeah, it's there, and they're coping with it, or not coping with it. I've had enough darkness in my life, Nigel. It's been nice to see a silver lining for a change."

"To silver linings." Nigel clinked his red solo cup with hers, both taking a generous sip of wine.

It was horrible.

Their eyes met, laced with a disgusted sort of humor, and purely out of manners alone, Makoto didn't spit it out until he did, both bursting into laughter.

"Zaki is a punk."

"He's a dead punk!" Nigel barked, "I'm officially going to follow him around his college campus for a day, in my TED onesie, and hug him at random."

"You have a Ted onesie?" She bit between giggles, and Nigel went sober faced, leaning forward to reply.

"Thunder buddies for life. He's so gonna get it."

"Well, not to say that I didn't have faith but…" Makoto produced a few bottles of water and tiny travel bottles of some sweet, cheap wine she enjoyed with a guilty expression.

"No faith Sparky, no faith in me at all." He shook his head in mock defeat, slamming the cork back into the tragic bottle of wine and tossing it haphazardly to the opposite end of the blanket, far away from them.

"Um, I was right not to! You trusted ZAKI of all people NOT to troll us." She twisted open one of the bottles, throwing an extra at Nigel which he barely caught from laughing too hard.

Makoto watched from the corner of her eye as he held the small bottle of wine in his teeth while he pulled off his jacket. He always wore plain clothes, like the jeans and simple maroon colored long-sleeved henley t-shirt chosen today, but he was sinfully tall, and everything was more fitted on account of his extremely built physique. Her mouth ran dry suddenly, and the small bottle of wine she'd been gripping was apparently far too small because it was empty rather abruptly.

"Well let's not let a feast go to waste, I'll deal with that adorable asshole later." She blinked a few times, snapping out of her appreciation to hum her approval. Nigel didn't hesitate to dig in. He wasn't a picky eater of course, so basically everything she made got his overdramatized praise.

In measured moments, breaks in conversation, Makoto found herself staring. It wasn't his body she'd noticed first, not like other girls she'd seen fawning over him. Sadly she noticed his height, that even compared to her he was tall, and she loomed over most people. She'd noticed that infectious smile that could brighten any room, those sweet brown eyes, and of course that head of hair that struck envy in basically everyone. It was easy to forget that when he wasn't being a complete goofball that he was gorgeous by every definition of the word, especially now, when he relaxed and stared out quietly over the lake.

It was perfect, and while Nigel did most of the talking for a change, she cleaned up as they finished lunch. She so loved hearing stories about his life back in America, mostly his time at Harvard, though he was never a student there himself, he stayed in Boston with the guys for a time, and he sighed with no doubt the best memories of his life. Makoto froze at the feeling of his hands as they slipped around her waist, warm on her bare mid-drift under the cropped off the shoulder sweater she wore. He pulled her against his chest, circling his arms around her waist, and kissed the bare shoulder.

"Wanna nap with me? We can stay late, and I'll read the stars for you."

She shivered rather noticeably at the rich tone of his voice, and he kissed her shoulder again, peering expectantly for her response. Their noses brushed when she turned her head to nod, and he closed the gap slowly to press his lips against hers tenderly, noting how he still tasted like sweet wine and watermelon. Makoto shifted to face him as he lay back against the blanket, pressing against his side when she joined him. She shifted her leg between his, running her fingers over the scruff along his strong jaw and traced his lips, shamelessly memorizing his face. Nigel's eyes were closed but the charming lines around his mouth deepened when he smiled, and Makoto tensed her fingers on his chin so he'd turn his head enough that she could kiss him once more.

Kissing Nigel was always an adventure. Either soft and sweet, or he'd be playful and nip her nose, but sometimes his passion surprised her. A slow sort of deep mingling of tongues that carried so much want with it that the rest of the world just sort of melts away and ceases to matter. Like now when he shifted practically on top of her, thick curtains of deep chestnut waves falling around them, his thigh between her legs, as Makoto pulled him deeper, arching into him with other intent than napping.

She didn't notice at first that a light mist began falling from the sky, too busy burying her fingers in his hair, tilting her head back so Nigel's lips could seek her throat.

"I don't want to sleep." She gasped feeling his teeth scrape against her skin before he pulled the flesh into his mouth causing her eyes to roll shut, and her breath to come stuttered and hard. "I don't want to wait anymore."

The rain came harder, and as he pulled up on his hands to gaze down at her, that warmth he kept in his eyes ignited into a scalding heat. She grasped the wrist of his hand he'd kept cupped at her neck, sliding it down over her breast in invitation. Droplets began clinging to his hair, and Makoto curled her fingers into his shirt to pull him back down to her lips.

"I don't want to ever know what it's like to be without you again." Nigel gasped into her mouth as she began pressing her hips against his thigh, and thunder rumbled across the field to punctuate her throaty moan. She began to pull his shirt up over his head, and he sat up to help her in her task, causing cascades of damp waves to fall tousled over his shoulders.

"Nigel…" She sighed with her heart hammering in her throat, speechless with a wrenching heart, lifting her verdant green eyes to his burnt mahogany. There was no other man he reminded her of, no past love for her to compare him to because he was it. There was no one else.

Hair, clothes, skin, the very blanket they lay on became sodden with rain that they continued to ignore. Silently he threw his shirt aside, spread her legs with his knee, nestling between them so his groin pressed perfectly into her core keeping his weight pleasant on top of her as he back into her mouth with a slow, deep kiss. She hooked her leg, letting him hike up her skirt so his hand could knead gently at the fleshy muscle of her thigh, sliding on the cool rain that began to pour over them relentlessly, cool and refreshing as drops fell between their lips as they grew raw and swollen, doing nothing to quench a rapidly growing thirst.

Makoto pushed him up, sitting up enough to pull her waterlogged sweater over her head, tossing it with his shirt. He inhaled an appreciative gasp against her lips and met her eyes, returning her kiss distractedly.

"I want to make love to you in the rain." She panted against his lips, reaching around her back to unhook the cute pink bra she wore, letting him slip the straps down her arms for her. His calloused hands palmed the tight-peaked fullness of them, large and pillowy in his grasp. He lifted the chilled flesh to his hot mouth, further tightening and arousing the peddled flesh, making her feel a bit feverish with each slick graze of his tongue. His lips as they trailed back up toward her neck urged her to rest on her back again, slipping her fingers under his pants to grip his ass as his hips flexed to meet her as she arched into him with a wanting gasp.

"You're sure Mako?" Nigel breathed, question answered when she reached between them to begin working at the button and zipper of his jeans. It was the next step of their relationship, one coming with ease based on the early morning make-out sessions in her kitchen at the cafe on the occasion he'd come to help her, nights she'd spent curled up on the couch with him had taken on a heat of their own, and she was ready without a doubt in her mind.

"It's been a really long time. Just be gentle with me?" Her widened eyes danced between his, never more sure of anything in her life. Nigel kissed her softly, pulling his hips up so she could struggle against the rubber-like consistency of the drenched cloth against his skin, pulling his underwear with the thick fabric from his hips over the toned muscle of his ass.

"I'd die before I ever hurt you again." He whispered with such passionate conviction, she knew he meant it more than anything he'd ever said before. Makoto bit her lip and nodded, tugging harder at his pants until his cock sprang free and the jeans reached his knees, leaving Nigel to finish the fight to kick them off completely. He kissed down the line of her body, down her neck, between her breasts and stomach, sitting up to pull her skirt and underwear down her legs, far easier than the denim, and she raised her legs to make it easier. He kissed her ankle, her calf, and spread her legs on either side of him to appraise her, bringing a rosy flush to her cheeks.

His hands slid over the rainwater gathering in the lines of her body, sliding down over her hip to the apex of her thighs, slipping his chilled thumb between her sodden lips into the silky heat of her. Her back arched, gasping at his steady strokes that concentrated on the swollen bundle of nerves at her center, slipping to gather the slick essence at her entrance to sweep back up to her clitoris to circle and stroke some more. Subconsciously she gripped her breast, canting her hips into his touch, she didn't notice Nigel pull the foil square from his pants, ripping the package with his teeth while he watched her writhe under his thumb alone. Her bottom lip bit between her teeth, coming back to reality just long enough to observe him roll the condom down his thick length.

Eagerly, Makoto wound her legs around his waist, desperately pulling his mouth to hers as he pressed into her carefully, letting her body slowly stretch and envelop him with an achingly slow thrust. Their combined moans were dire as he filled her, began moving together slowly, aimlessly until she writhed with urgent need onto his cock, head thrown back and drinking in the raindrops that fell onto her parted lips while he panted his fevered breath against her neck. Thunder cracked again, and Makoto wasn't so sure it wasn't her doing this time as she ground her hips into his so thirsty to savor every inch, every slick brush of his skin against hers as she clung hard to his back.

Her hips moved on him faster, eliciting the sexiest deep-throated moans from her lover's throat, her nipples slipping their hard peaks against his chest, jerking against him as sweat mingled with the rain casting a humidity to the air with every thrust that came increasingly harder as the pleasure began to mount. She dug her nails into his buttocks as the muscle flexed and relaxed with each impatient thrust, rolling and shifting under her fingers as she gripped his back.

Nigel practically growled when she rolled him onto his back, barely interrupting the next gyration of their hips, and sat up to gaze lustily down into his hooded eyes, paying no mind to the hairs that clung to her face, curling her nails into his skin as he began thrusting into her from beneath, pressing his thumb back against her clit as she rode him. This was something time could never steal from them. She was grateful to Jupiter for not soiling this euphoria with blood, for keeping that desire to herself so Makoto could feel the man she was always meant to be with fill her with the freedom of true and honest emotion until she thought she might actually burst with the pleasure of him.

He smiled between labored breaths between his parted lips, and she stole his hand from between her thighs, twitching when it became too intense for her to manage, and she pulled that thumb into her mouth before slipping the calloused palm back to her breast. She could feel her resolve slipping, tilting her head back to embrace the rain as it ran down her neck, between her breasts, and pooled in the contours of Nigel's body beneath her, adding to the slickness between her legs where he became a part of her. Her thighs began to shake, and before the build of her release could crash, Nigel sat up to gather her into his arms, cupping her jaw to stifle a pitched moan with his mouth.

"You're not coming unless it's in my arms." He breathed hard, and Makoto pulled his mouth back to hers, letting him fall back on top of her against the blanket. She felt his angle shift, pressing his hips into hers with purpose so his body would rub into her core, his cock noticeably becoming harder as she pulled her legs tighter, lifting her hips to pull him deeper into her narrow entrance. Makoto didn't care who could hear her, her body beginning to throb and shake, their hips becoming erratic and desperate, out of rhythm as they both came simultaneously.

Makoto gazed up at the dark clouds rolling above them, thunder rumbling again a bit closer as Nigel collapsed beside her. She curled up against him, pressing her lips to his chest, and reaching to pull the used rubber from his still twitching cock, giggling when he jerked, and groaned from the contact with the still sensitive flesh, adding it to the small bag of garbage she gathered.

"Can I stay with you tonight?" Nigel eyed her, brow raised and lips quirked. Makoto only snuggled closer, the air becoming colder suddenly.

"Of course, but we'd better get moving or we're both going to get sick." He patted her butt and sat up, pulling just his underwear from inside his pants, standing to pull them on. "Fuck that's cold!" She laughed and stood to hunt down her own clothes while he pulled the blanket from the ground, and she found herself wrapped inside of it and in his arms, breath warm against her ear.

"Hey, you go ahead to the car and get the heat going, you're better off just like this, okay? There's another blanket behind the front seats that'll be warmer than this soggy nightmare."

"You just want me to stay naked." She chided with a look, only making Nigel grin his wide, charming grin.

"Of course I do, but I also don't want you to get sick. I have a shower with our names on it and I may, or may not be done with you yet." She shivered, but it was enough incentive for her to listen to his demands, and take his car keys when he handed them to her. "Don't worry, I won't forget any of your clothes. I think I like that outfit on you too much."

For reasons unknown, she felt the heat rise to her cheeks at the admission, kissed him briefly and pulled the blanket tightly around her as she slipped into her soggy shoes, at least grabbed one bag, and headed for the truck. She was careful no one was around when she switched blankets, tossing the grassy wet one to the truck bed and pulling the dry, wool blanket behind the driver's seat around her shoulders, starting the car and nestling into the passenger's side.

In a few minutes, she watched him trudge through the field in nothing but his boots and boxer briefs, clothes under one arm, cooler in one hand, and picnic basket in the other. He'd managed to pull his hair back as he sometimes did while working on an intense build in his shop, for no other reason than to keep his insane amount of hair from clinging to his skin or getting in the way. She'd seen his tattoos before and observed them now, the planetary symbol of Earth over his heart, golden rose on his shoulder, but noticed as he tossed their things in the bed of his pickup that his back was a whole other piece of strategically placed constellations, and she finally got a good look at the symbol for Jupiter on his hip.

"Damn Sparky…" He breathed, plopping into the driver's seat with a satisfied sigh. "Not that I'm complaining about how things went, but I wish we could stay."

"You really want me to see you stargazing?" Her brow lifted, knowing it was something he enjoyed in solitude, and being in the big city made it hard for him to do so. Makoto could only imagine the amount of sleep he probably lost just driving all the way out here.

"There isn't a part of my life I want to keep separate from you. Not that I want you to think I'm clingy or anything but sometimes, it would be nice to enjoy your cooking under the stars, and I can share with you bits of the future that everyone seems so scared of."

"Shouldn't we be scared?" She swallowed hard, the patter of rain against the windshield somehow adding to the ominous tone of the moment. Rei had eluded to things, Minako had become obsessed with secretive preparations, and Usagi had become a bit too serious sometimes, tense even when anyone even mentioned Crystal Tokyo.

"No." He replied simply. "We'll do what we need to, like we always have. But it's gonna be okay, understand me?"

"How do you know?"

"Because I love you Kino Makoto. We'll be together, that's how I know it'll be okay." Tears pricked her eyes and she leaned into his hand when he brushed some loose curls from her skin that had come loose from her ponytail.

"Can we go home now?" She kissed his palm and laced her fingers with his, resting on his bare thigh since he hadn't bothered to even try putting his pants back on.

"Of course." He spoke a bit softer, and used their joined hands to put the car into drive, putting them back on the road toward the city.

"I'm in love with you too, you know." His lips spread into a serene-like smile, and he lifted their joined hands to kiss her knuckles, eyes warm as they shifted to look at her, nothing but her head and hand protruding from the red wool blanket.

"I'm the luckiest bastard alive, and I don't deserve it." Makoto thought her heart might burst, gazing at his profile while he drove with that boyish grin on his face that turned her into putty each and every morning when he came by for a coffee and a kiss. She bit her lip, anticipation that she knew the night was far from over. Though as she studied his completely sinful body, lamenting that she hadn't properly been able to touch him, her eyes narrowed, spying something awfully familiar….

"Nigel?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you tie your hair back with my thong?"

He snorted, bursting into full-on laughter at her incredulous stare. "YUP!"


End file.
